QUESTION:

Traditional festivals around the world often have much in common. Although there will always be cultural differences and twists, the underlying festival can often be found to have the same foundation based on similar beliefs.

One particular Chinese festival has much in common with Halloween, celebrated in the USA and Canada. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunar calendar.

The Chinese believe that the entire month is a very dangerous time, as the gates of the underworld are opened and ghosts wander the earth freely. All through the month, people offer gifts of incense and food in an effort to appease these abandoned spirits. The festivities climax on the fifteenth day, with Buddhist priests chanting prayers and people attending huge banquets and festival dinners.

What is the name of this traditional festival:

A. Angry Ghost Festival;
B. Festival of the Underworld;
C. Chinese Halloween;
D. The Hungry Ghost Festival.

ANSWER:

D is correct. Celebrated through China and Southeast Asia, (in Japan it is called Obon Festival) it is the counterpart to Spring's Ching Ming festival. However, the mood is very different as the purpose of the Ching Ming Festival is to honor departed relatives, and thus the ghosts are considered gentle and even protective.

By contrast, the ghosts that inhabit the earth during the Hungry Ghost Festival are those who were not given a proper burial - perhaps they were murdered or committed suicide - and thus are not allowed into heaven. These ghosts are to be feared, as they may invade the home, cause natural disasters, and generally wreak havoc upon the earth.